Did Asylum films make both versions?

Rating: 5/10 (18 July 2013)

Here are my expectations for this film. They were not high. I knew the concept was about giant robots fighting giant monsters so science fiction is an understatement. I expected HUGE special effects mixed with a disaster flick and a dash of what made the Transformer's movies good or at least decent. I even went so far as to check this out on 3D IMAX which was granted very impressive because its a huge screen and the monsters and robots that are in this are massive, beyond the scope of imagination. But that little niche is only impressive for the first half hour or so. Then you begin to realize how completely empty and vapid the film is. The characters are downright awful, the story is literally pathetic and if not for the impressive visuals and the experience of seeing it on IMAX, I might have even scored it lower. I was thoroughly and nearly completely disappointed. I am confounded that IMDb reviewers are giving this a 10 and that many many many people are talking about how great it is. A friend of mine said that it was awesome because it didn't take itself seriously and thank god for that because what a ridiculous mess the story is. Is it a B-Movie? Yes definitely and maybe they were trying for that but when you spend 200+ Million on a film you don't want to see camp and cheese. I expect at least a decent story. The Asylum I mention in my title is Asylum films who make awful "Mockbusters" and while I haven't seen Atlantic Rim yet (renamed Attack From Beneath for DVD release) I can't imagine it being worse than the actual version.
There are virtually no stars in Pacific Rim and that is unforgivable in this type of blockbuster. The film was desperately crying out for a major name with big charisma. Chris Pine, Matt Damon, Ryan Reynolds, hell even Bruce Willis could have made this more watchable. Instead they cast Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunman in the lead role and act like he's a major star. They did that with several characters where they shot them from certain angles or gave them certain scenes as though they were huge Hollywood stars and that was cheesy. Hunman is bland and boring and ridiculous in the role. Worst of all, he's still playing Jax from Sons of Anarchy. He swagger walks his way through this film like a biker and it looks dumb. Idris Elba might be the biggest name in the film. He also does a decent job especially compared to Hunman. His character is decent and he brings a little bit of chemistry to the screen so bravo to him but it doesn't help. I also find it odd and distracting that Elba's English accent seemed to float in and out intermittently. Wherever Rinko Kikuchi came from, she needs to go back there fast. She is an example of someone that nobody knows and yet they act like she is Michelle Yeo and we should be impressed that she's in the film. Her acting is simply awful and the chemistry between her Hunman is excruciatingly bad. Their one good scene was the training scene together (which makes no sense to the film but was one of the few good scenes.) Ron Perlman was the one great cameo and a great character and he was fun, had some good lines and a great scene. He might be the one redeeming quality in the film if Elba isn't enough. Certainly his cult status made him at least recognizable. Max Martini and Robert Kazinsky are okay in their roles but achingly predictable and cookie cutter characters we've seen hundreds of times before. None of the aforementioned characters though can compare to how truly atrociously awful the characters played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are. These two play Scientists and their performance belongs in the worst kind of low budget smut you could find. Gorman is literally painful to watch how awful he is. And if you want to tell me that it was sarcasm or clever irony I will slap you because both characters were two of the worst I have ever seen and shame on these actors for doing so.
Speaking of shame...shame on Guillermo del Toro, a talented storyteller for making this crap. I am still in shock at how many reviewers, professional and average movie goers are loving this. The story is so bad that it goes nowhere. They don't even spend any time at all building you up to the story. The film begins and the narration says "Giant Monsters attacked the world, we built robots, here are the robots, we fight the monsters...and go"...it drops you right into the battle. So the first battle is impressive and a little fun to watch and certainly visually stunning. The second, third, fourth etc etc battle which are the same thing over and over and over again is so incredibly tired and unoriginal. I have often spoke out against the crowds for films that I thought were incredibly entertaining (White House Down most recently) so now I am bravely going against the crowd to either warn you about what you're about to sit through or perhaps open your eyes and make you realize how bad this was. It was probably one of the worst movies yet of the summer. Its another HUGE example in the vein of Jack The Giant Slayer, Battleship and John Carter of ALL flash and absolutely no substance. Poorly done Mr. Del Toro. 5/10